Making A Defensive Stand

A great offense starts with defense. - Anon

Jesus prayed often because that's what usually opened doors for him to minister. WOW!

If you've ever played organized sports or listened to those who coach them you've heard the key to winning is defense. In baseball it's preached 'you can't give the other team extra outs or at-bats (errors, walks). In basketball it's taught get defensive stops. It's easier to run off rebounds and turnovers than when you talking the ball out of the net. In football we know it's field position. Pin them deep in their own territory, or get us started in their territory. The parallel here to our faith walk is that you cannot resist the devil without submitting to God, and you cannot submit to God without resisting the devil. We've all have to make a stand one way or the other. And I might add, doing either one halfheartedly will not get the job done, we must be sold out. Praying your game plan is solid today.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you...." - James 4:7-8

P.S. - Hoping you will join us today at 5.30pm on campus for our monthly Prayer meeting.

Pressing Forward

Don't stumble on something behind you! - church sign

Jesus brought a new way of life to the people and the religious leaders couldn't understand it. Hmm!

No doubt about it, every one of us has a past. And in that past more than likely are some things we're not too proud of. Some hurts, habits, hang-ups, and actions we took. It's human nature! The key to remember though is life is not defined by a few bad actions, nor is it over because of what we may consider a major incident. God uses flawed people. Consider Noah (heavy drinker), Moses & David (murderers), Rahab (prostitute), Matthew (tax collector), or Paul (Pharisee), all somehow flawed. But once they submitted themselves to God their past was just that - PAST. Though others may not have wanted to let it go, they themselves did. The same is true for you and me. We don't have to be victims of our past, nor do we have to be weighed down by them. Cast them on the Lord and He will bear us up at all times, and like Paul we can 'press forward forgetting what is behind.....' The way to keep from being tripped up is to look forward.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." - Hebrews 12:1-2

The Power to Submit

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. – Abraham Lincoln

Solomon was considered the wisest king ever and a man of good character, but his son Rehoboam let the power of being king go to his head. OUCH!

It is said that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. And though most of us would say we would never be drunk with power as we see in most tyrants, despots, and dictators. In reality we are that way in some areas of our lives. We have the power to submit to God’s will or not, and more often than not we choose not to submit. Circumstances, resources, timing, happen to us all; and we can try to excuse ourselves from submission or obedience because of them, but it doesn’t get us off the hook. The whole idea and understanding of power can be gleaned from our Heavenly Father. He is omnipotent but yet He is full of love, mercy, grace, compassion and forgiveness. And if God sets the example for us, who are we to try something different?

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“The most important one, answered Jesus, is this…..Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31

A Solid Game Plan

A great offense starts with defense. - Anon

Jesus prayed often because that's what usually opened doors for him to minister. WOW!

If you've ever played organized sports or listened to those who coach them you've heard the key to winning is defense. In baseball it's preached 'you can't give the other team extra outs or at-bats (errors, walks). In basketball it's taught get defensive stops. It's easier to run off of rebounds and turnovers than when you're taking the ball out of the net. In football we know it's field position. Pin them deep in their own territory, or get us started in their territory. The parallel here to our faith walk is that you cannot resist the devil without submitting to God, and you cannot submit to God without resisting the devil. We've all have to make a stand one way or the other. And I might add, doing either one halfheartedly will not get the job done, we must be sold out. Praying your game plan is solid today.

Until tomorrow......

Pastor Botts

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you...." - James 4:7-8  

Election Day Faith

Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them. -  L. Tomlin

Jesus’ main opposition wasn’t the people he came to save, it was the religious rulers they were under. Hmm!

Today will be both historic and memorable. Historic for the US Presidency and memorable for the Church. Though morality should never have to be legislated we have reached that point. It has been noted that “democracy is the worst form of government when the people are bent on being evil,” and we can clearly see evidence of that in this day and age, in some of the people on the ballot and the initiatives. There’s a lot to be said for integrity, morality, ethics, and virtue – all godly qualities – which is what our votes should consider and stand for. As part of the ninety-eight percent that just want to live decent god-fearing lives, let’s make sure we get the other 2 percent in line. VOTE as if God were depending on you.

Until tomorrow……

Pastor Botts

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established….” Romans 13:1

Doin Too Much

Devoting a little of yourself to everything means committing a great deal of yourself to nothing. – M. LeBoeuf

The Israelites tried serving the gods of their neighbors and Almighty God. Eventually they found themselves with neither. Hmm!

We live in a world that says you can have it all, and unfortunately many believe just that. Sacrifice is not a part of the vocabulary. Many of us are stretched thin, involved in every “in” thing, going to every “in” place. And like our fashionable attendance to these major events (arrive late, leave early) we do the same with our God walk. But God has indeed called us to humbly submit our whole heart to Him alone, and has promised us all other things will fall into place if we do. And if we give it some serious thought, doing less but with a more defined purpose is really not half-bad.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33

Surrender to Love

Christianity is not the act of man finally submitting to the power of God, but rather man fully surrendering to the love of God. – W. Barclay

Peter thought he loved Jesus until that fateful night. After that he really learned what love meant. AMEN!

“Stubborn!, Obstinate!, Hard-headed!” All adjectives that have possibly been applied to us sometime in our life. Those situations where we were unwilling to bend or submit for another. It’s actually a carryover from our infancy when we were shaping our personality. Unfortunately, this type of thinking is often what keeps us separated from God. We think He wants us to ‘knuckle under’ His all encompassing power and we refuse to give ourselves up. Actually, all God wants to do is love us, but for that it takes surrender. God never forces himself on anyone, but anyone who has truly found Him often wonders what took them so long to surrender.

Until tomorrow…..

Pastor Botts

“If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” – Revelation 3:20